“Mount Joy,” an indie film set and shot in Lancaster County, revolves around Alex, a small-town ga

"Mount Joy," an indie film set and shot in Lancaster County, revolves around Alex, a small-town gal longing for a taste of the big time.

Katie Hyde, who plays the spirited character, could certainly relate.

"I can remember sitting in class in high school, not listening to my trigonometry teacher, but sketching in my notepad what my New York apartment would look like," says the Haddonfield, N.J., native. "I wanted to have a closet just for my nail polish."

After spending several years acting in movies, Hyde decided to team up with her husband, director Jack Lewars, and his childhood friend, Philadelphia schoolteacher M. Angelo Mena, for "Mount Joy."

Nearly three years after it was shot, the Pennsylvania-centric film is finally available on DVD as well as on such digital platforms as iTunes, Amazon, Dish and OnDemand.

"It feels so good that people are finally going to be able to see the movie," Hyde says. "Finding distribution is the final frontier. And to not have the movie sitting on our hard drives and to really have it released out into the world is so wonderful."

"Mount Joy" follows a fictional Pennsylvania band called the Living Daylights as they struggle to make a name for themselves outside of Lancaster County. The movie pivots on Alex, the outfit's biggest supporter as well as the lead singer's (Jay Della Valle) girlfriend. Just as the band is on the eve of a national tour, Alex vanishes, throwing the group into disarray.

While there's plenty of comedy in the indie-rock romance — as well as hard-charging musical interludes — "Mount Joy" eventually takes an unexpected swerve into dramatic territory. It's the movie's devastating second half that helps it stand out from the indie pack.

One of the film's main attractions is its soundtrack, which features a handful of bands that hail from Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia's Man Man, the Boats, Richard Aufrichtig, Carolina Liar, Yoni Gordon, Adam Parker and Straight Punch to the Crotch.

At its best, "Mount Joy" makes Pennsylvania feel like another character in the drama.

"I'm Keystone-proud," Lewars says. "['Mount Joy'] is a beautiful spot in the world, so I knew Lancaster County would hold its own in a story about wanting to leave. It's not at all that it's a bad place, it's just that [the movie is about] the fire in the gut of young people wanting to have an adventure."

Despite weather that included hurricanes and floods, filming in Lancaster County was surprisingly easy for the filmmaking duo.

"It was nerve-wracking to make those initial calls, 'Hey remember me? We used to be neighbors, can I take over your house for a whole day and let my crew of 30 use the bathroom?,' " says Lewars, a Mount Joy native. "But we really were welcomed with open arms. We couldn't have made this film if it weren't for the generosity of the community."